Video transcript
NSW Premier's Reading Challenge 2024 – SWF author interview (primary) – 02. Lev Grossman

[intro music]

AFREEN: Hi, my name is Afreen Hassan. And I'm a student from Glenfield Public School. I'm here on Darug land at Parramatta as part of the Sydney Writers' Festival for Primary Schools Days. And today, I'm interviewing the amazing author, Lev Grossman. Hi, Lev, how are you today?

LEV GROSSMAN: I'm really well. How are you?

AFREEN: I'm great, thank you. Lev, 'The Silver Arrow' takes readers on an enchanting train journey filled with magical creatures. What inspired you to create this whimsical world centred around a colossal steam engine?

LEV GROSSMAN: I've always loved steam trains. And I don't know why. It's irrational. It's an irrational love that I have for steam trains.

And I remember once taking not a steam train, but a regular train. And it was from London to Cornwall. And I was so excited for this train ride where I had a sleeper car, and so I could have a little bed to sleep in. And I went. And it was so uncomfortable.

It was so cold. And the train was so loud. And I couldn't sleep all night. But it stuck in my head, my vision of how I thought it was going to be. And then I felt like I wanted to write that down.

AFREEN: So you basically did it off part of a reality thing that happened to you?

LEV GROSSMAN: Yes, but it was the opposite of the reality. I imagined a better reality.

AFREEN: I noticed while reading 'The Silver Arrow', that the book emphasises saving endangered animals and their habitats. Why was this theme important to you?

LEV GROSSMAN: Well, again, it's funny. It's about something that didn't happen. I remember watching cartoons about animals with my kids, and reading great books like 'The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe', which have a lot of talking animals in them. But they would always dance around the question of climate change and species going extinct. And it always bugged me. And so I thought, I'm going to write a book which has all this magical stuff, and it's fun and an adventure. But I'm just not going to close my eyes to what's really happening in the world.

AFREEN: Lev, you started writing for adults. I imagine transmitting from adult fiction to children's literature can be quite a challenge. How did you adapt your writing style and approach for a younger audience? And were there any challenges or surprises you encountered while crafting a story specifically for kids?

LEV GROSSMAN: It was a challenge. And I didn't think it would be. I thought it would be easier because adult books, they're very long. And 'The Silver Arrow', it's about a quarter of the length of the books that I had been writing. And so I thought it'd take me a quarter of the time. But actually, it was harder because you had to take a whole story and compress it down and make it simple and clear in that little space. It was actually quite a challenge, but a good challenge. I enjoy it.

AFREEN: Could you share any behind-the-scenes moment from the creation of 'The Silver Arrow'? How did you go about writing the story?

LEV GROSSMAN: It was interesting because I had my idea about how it would go. But I also wanted it to be grounded in science. I wanted it to be grounded in a real thing. So when I did the characters of the animals, I wanted them to behave like the real animal that they were.

So, for example, there's a porcupine in there. And I thought the porcupine would be very nice. I wrote a very kind-hearted, loving porcupine with a heart of gold. And it always wants to hug people. But it can't, because it's so prickly.

And then I learned about real porcupines who are very antisocial. They don't have hearts of gold. I don't know what their hearts have made of, but definitely not gold. They can be quite mean and ornery. So I had to course correct as I was writing it.

AFREEN: So you tried adding more nonfiction and fiction combined in it?

LEV GROSSMAN: Yes, I ended up doing quite a lot of research. And when I could follow the science, I really tried to.

AFREEN: In the sequel, 'The Golden Swift', Kate encounters another magical train with its own agenda. How hard is it writing a sequel? Do you have a plan from Book 1? Or do you just make it up from scratch?

LEV GROSSMAN: Short answer is, I made it from scratch. When I'm writing a book, I try not to think about the sequel. You get tempted to say, oh, I have a good idea, but I'll save it for the sequel. You want to put all the good ideas into one book. And then, when you write the sequel, you have to have a bunch of other good ideas.

So I did not plan it from the beginning. And it was a little bit of a challenge. But I knew there were other trains out there besides the Silver Arrow.

I had this idea there'd be a group of trains riding the rails. And I couldn't get to that. I couldn't fit it into 'The Silver Arrow'. So it was actually quite satisfying to put that stuff into the second book.

AFREEN: Are there more magical tales brewing in your imagination beyond 'The Silver Arrow' and 'The Golden Swift'?

LEV GROSSMAN: After 'The Golden Swift', I wrote a book that hasn't come out yet. But it's about King Arthur. I've always loved stories about King Arthur and the Round Table. And for the longest time, I wanted to write one. But I felt like I needed my own twist to put on the story. And now I think I found it. So right now, in my brain, it's all about King Arthur and the adventures of his knights.

AFREEN: So, does it have more magic involved with it, like 'The Silver Arrow' and 'The Golden Swift'?

LEV GROSSMAN: It has so much magic in it. I mean, you've got Merlin, who is one of the all time greatest magicians. But then, Arthur has a sister named Morgan le Fay. And she's a sorceress, too. So there's quite a bit of magic flying around in addition to the usual swordplay and all that.

AFREEN: And now, for a really difficult question, the most hardest question in your life, Lev. If you weren't an author today, what do you think you would be?

LEV GROSSMAN: Well, that is a good question. It's not easy. I actually think I have an answer, which is that, when I went to university, I started out studying chemistry.

I was very shy. And I always felt, well, if I were a chemist alone in a lab, I could just work by myself. And I wouldn't have to interact with all those other scary human beings.

And that's the ideal profession for me. Chemistry turned out to be very hard, especially the math part. I struggled with the math part a lot.

And so I was relieved when I hit on another career, which involved sitting in a room alone all day. And that was writing stories. But I'm thinking maybe chemist, but bad chemist. Bad chemist, that's what I would be.

AFREEN: The Premier's Reading Challenge is all about getting students reading books for enjoyment. What were your favourite books to read when you were in school?

LEV GROSSMAN: My very favourite book, it really was 'The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe' and the other Narnia books. That, more than anything, was my favourite. But I loved Roald Dahl a lot, 'Charlie and the Chocolate Factory'. Those are probably my favourites.

AFREEN: Is there a specific reason why you love these books so much?

LEV GROSSMAN: It's funny. It's funny, but all I wanted to do was go to Narnia. That was my dream. I thought about it every day.

And the funny thing about the Narnia books is, they go to Narnia, but everything's not OK when they get there. It's not, everything is fun and magic. They actually have a lot of work to do. And I think it was a good rehearsal for real life and growing up because, as it turns out, even when you get what you want, sometimes it's just the beginning of the story.

AFREEN: So would you ever write another book for after 'The Golden Swift'?

LEV GROSSMAN: I would. I definitely would. I have one planned out in my head. I haven't written it down yet, but I would certainly like to.

AFREEN: Thank you so much for letting me interview you today, Lev. It's been amazing talking with you. I hope everyone watching out there enjoys reading your incredible novels that I myself enjoy so much.

LEV GROSSMAN: Thank you so much for saying that. Thank you, that makes me feel very good.